By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - The UN on Thursday called for allowing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the blockaded Gaza.
"The UN calls on all sides and the relevant parties to allow us access to deliver urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip," Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Anadolu.
According to the OCHA, the number of Palestinians displaced in Gaza has risen to more than 338,000 amid intensified fighting.
In an earlier statement, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said Thursday that half a million people had stopped receiving vital food aid as the agency was forced to close all 14 of its food distribution centers.
In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.